Ashford & Simpson - The Warner Bros. Years: Hits, Remixes & Rarities

2-CD Compilation Boasts Lush, Soulful Originals, Impossible To Find 12" Versions And Sensational Contemporary Remixes Of Signature Tracks From R&B's Most Enduring Duo!The phenomenal R&B performing and songwriting partnership of Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson-better known as simply Ashford & Simpson-made their Warner Bros. recording debut with 1973's Billboard® Top 20 LP Gimme Something Real. Over the course of more than a decade with the label, the duo's legend grew with a string of chart hits and acclaimed albums, among them 1978's gold-selling Is It Still Good To Ya, which Stephen Holden described in Rolling Stone as, "music I find almost irresistibly ecstatic." That feeling comes across full-force on Rhino's new 2-CD compilation featuring unforgettable originals and 12" versions on Disc 1 followed by inspired contemporary remixes on Disc 2. As songwriters, Ashford & Simpson gave the world classics including "I'm Every Woman" and "Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing." As performers they deliver sonic ecstasy, celebrated to the max on this innovative set. Album Description

EXCELLENT Collection & Stellar remixes

I was planning on purchasing this when it came out and ended up winning an A&S Trivia Contest and received it as a prize...thankfully NO ONE else got this PRIZE! I was blown away by some of the remixes by one of my favorites, Dimitri From Paris --- especially "One More Try" which takes the funky original and shoots it into the stratosphere. Dim's takes on "Stay Free", especially the Club Mix take the original and give it a contemporary spin. I was so pleased to hear it playing in NYC that very week. As for the originals, I want to mention to the other reviewers that you can pick up "Gimme Something Real", "I Wanna Be Selfish", and "A Musical Affair" over at iTunes for almost next to nothing. July 6, 2008

*Smiles Ecstatically & Utters Breathlessly*: Oh My, My!

Finding this gem made an ordinary shopping trip to my local music store something right up there with ecstasy. These are the hits of my early teen years and back then, I could not afford 12" singles (nevermind that these 12" remixes were not available anyway) but I have always wanted the 12" version for "It Seems To Hang On". As a kid I had to be content with taping it off the radio. So finding this 2-disc treasure was a hit right off the bat, but that was just the beginning. Still more were the remixes for "Don't Cost You Nothing" one of my 7th grade favorites and then there were great songs that I have not heard, especially "Over & Over" or "Tried, Tested and Found True". Ashford & Simpson are truly some of my favorite artists from my youth, and their classics are the songs that are the epitome of my musical tastes.

Now about the new remixes:
With so many oldies getting bandwagon treatment and sounding like it, you won't find any bandwagon remixes here. I had my skepticism for those other than Tom Moulton and M&M (well 1/2 of M&M since Sergio Munzubia has passed away). I am familiar with Joey Negro and Joe Claussel but I know them for what they do on today's remix scene. Well, to make a long story short, I really could not tell that I was not listening to something from the 1970's, HONESTLY.
First off: Tom Moulton does the honors for Found A Cure. Now Moulton is now stranger to the remix thing (just think of him as the John Lennon of the remix), you really can't go wrong with his work! I love that bassline change, it sounds like it may have been apart of the original recording.

Now for Tommy Musto's doing for "It Seems To Hang On": OOOOH I am getting goose bumps just reviewing it. If Musto added any production to his remix, I am hard-pressed to notice it!!!!! OK, I noticed some bongos, but were they in the original version but just way in the background or not used? They really appeared to belong to the original. The tempo remains the same (in fact only 2 remixes are faster) and the music is fully intact but the remixing and the restructuring is very, very, impressive. I really loved how Musto extended the chorus right after the 2nd "Lose Me, Lose Me" break.... and he did it using the original music, not just restructuring the song's chorus and creating new music to match it. This is one of my central classics and Musto made good with this remix so I won't have to hunt him down!!!!

Paul Simpson & 1/2 of M&M (John Morales) do the honors of both Over & Over, and Tried, Tested and Found True. Now Paul Simpson, I remember as a remixer from the late 1980's and during the early 1990's and have wondered what happened to him (Now he did appear as an artist in 1983 with The Paul Simpson Connection). John Morales and the late Sergio Munzubia were perhaps one of my favorite remix duo's of the 80's and anything with "M&M" on it got bought. I thought at first that these remixes were previously unreleased from their heydays until I found that the collaboration was really a Simpson & Morales team-up (S&M mix? Whoa!, beat me, beat me - just kidding). Both of these remixes are faithful to the original recording adding little, if any production.

Joey Negro takes up the tempo for his remix on Love Don't Make It Right adding music that compliments the original production and still leaving elements of the original song.

For the last remix "Stay Free" Which is the only song to appear 3 times is sped up but really sounds like it could have been that way originally. The song still sounds like it came right out of the 1970's

While Michael Jackson's "Thriller 25" is good, I must say that Jackson will be taking a backseat as a duo that has more of a relevance in my life, have been fortunate to have their 2008 redux!

Ahhhhhh!! May 1, 2008

WOW!!!

I put off buying this album for a while. I was so sure I would hate the remixes, I didn't want to spend that much money on it. I shouldn't have waited. These remixes are actually good! Ashford & Simpson's music was NOT destroyed! I still like the originals better, but this a GREAT album!

It's great to finally have "Everybody's Got To Give It Up" and "One More Try" on CD! (I still wish A&S would release "I Wanna Be Selfish" on CD, along with something new.) I love the 12" versions of every song; I can't pick a favorite.

The liner notes were interesting, and I enjoyed reading what A&S had to say about the remixes.

If you're an A&S fan, buy this album. You will not be disappointed! March 29, 2008

The Greatest Collection !!!

Took me a while to decide to buy this Compact disc. Driven by my curiosity
for the Tom Moulton mix of "Found a Cure" I purchased it. I have been listening to it over and over. "It seems to hang on" and "Send it" are my other favorites. Honestly, the whole collection is excellent. A must have for the Ashford and Simpson fans!!! March 27, 2008

Pure Pleasure

Whilst the selection of songs may not be complete (where is Solid?), it is a great lesson in how to blend notes, voices and instruments into something exquisite.
The remixes are great in that they maintain the original instruments instead of adding "boom-boxes" like most remixes today. The best remix of this kind is still Fantasy from Earth, Wind and Fire (Shelter DJ mix)...

Enjoy. March 23, 2008

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